By the time Su Nianyao’s fever broke, it was already afternoon.
Her head still felt a little foggy, but at least she was no longer burning up.
She leaned against the headboard, holding her phone, and scrolled listlessly through the campus communication platform, “Tongtong.”
It was Insite High School’s own social app, real-name only and usable only by current students and alumni. Surprisingly, it was quite well made.
No wonder Xiao Ai dared to tell her to immerse herself in this life. In a few more days, she might really start thinking of herself as Su Nianyao instead of the player Shen Yan.
She scrolled through a few posts, all more or less the same: who wore what today, who was dating whom, and whether the cafeteria food was good.
She had originally wanted to find some clues for stock trading to earn funds, but Insite High School was far too snobbish. Tongtong was full of lies, and she couldn’t see the real movements among the major financial groups at all.
A waste of time.
Being alone made it easy to overthink.
Su Nianyao closed Tongtong and entered a phone number she knew by heart: Ms. Dong’s number. She hesitated for a while, then dialed.
She knew there would be no result. When the dial tone came from the phone, she still unconsciously held her breath.
[The number you dialed is not in service–]
‘What was she hoping for?’
No matter how realistic it was, this was still a game world.
It was impossible to contact Ms. Dong.
But like a fool who refused to see reason, she dialed the few numbers she knew over and over, listening repeatedly to the cold “not in service” reply from the automated customer service and crushing her own expectations again and again.
As long as she didn’t hang up, during that brief dialing time, she was as close to her family in reality as she could get.
“Old man… Ms. Dong…”
Su Nianyao’s lips trembled as she called out the people she subconsciously missed most.
“Don’t give up on me. I’m still alive…”
“This dating game is just so-so. I still prefer management games. Remember to keep an eye out for me…”
“Is the company okay? If those restless people under you harass you, remember this: when I wake up, I’ll settle accounts with them…”
“Shen Guoqiang, you old geezer, just save yourself some worry. It’s the era of young people now. Stay behind the scenes and enjoy your retirement. Stop bossing everyone around…”
“Ms. Dong, stop staying up late reading novels. Your presbyopia is so bad you can’t even see clearly…”
“Here, I reluctantly put on the women’s clothing you always wanted to see. I’ll send you a selfie later…”
Beep, beep, beep–
[The number you dialed is not in service–]
Su Nianyao hung up, buried her head between her knees, and was swallowed by loneliness.
She was like a rootless boat drifting on a false sea.
Grandma pushed the door open and came in. Her old, kind voice pulled Su Nianyao back to the game world.
“Yaoyao, your classmate came to see you.”
Su Nianyao was stunned for a moment.
‘Classmate?’
‘Which classmate?’
At Insite High School, she hadn’t made any friends. If she had any connection with anyone, it was only Jiang Tang.
Her heart suddenly beat faster.
‘…Jiang Tang?’
‘She came?’
‘How did she know where her home was?’
Oh, Jiang Tang knew everything about school matters. Finding out her address would be simple.
So this little brat had some conscience after all, coming to comfort her, the victim.
…
Su Nianyao threw off the blanket and hurriedly put on her slippers before heading outside.
“Why did you come here? If it weren’t for you–“
She pushed open the living room door, but the disgusted words caught in her throat.
The visitor wasn’t Jiang Tang.
It was a girl wearing glasses and holding a folder. She stood at the door, startled by the twisted expression on Su Nianyao’s face.
“Su… Su Nianyao?”
“…Who are you?”
She looked a little familiar, but not familiar enough.
“I’m the class academic committee member, Lin Zhixia.”
The girl pushed up her glasses.
“The teacher asked me to bring you homework and notes. I heard you were sick. Are… are you okay… Yaoyao?”
The final two words, “Yaoyao,” were spoken so quietly they were almost indistinct.
“I’m fine now. Thank you.”
Su Nianyao took the folder expressionlessly. Those blind teachers would never be so kind. She glanced at Lin Zhixia’s lowered head and realized the girl had used the teacher’s name as an excuse to deliver the materials herself.
People at Insite High School never visited without a reason. Lin Zhixia wouldn’t come to her door for no reason. Had some side quest been triggered?
[Xiao Ai, after a target character is chosen, will side quests still appear?]
[Of course. You are the most important player. Romanceable characters will actively or passively become connected to you, making it easier for you to access more game content.]
‘So it really was a game setting…’
Su Nianyao immediately lost interest. Since the other girl wasn’t speaking, she couldn’t be bothered to make conversation.
The air was filled with a silence that made her toes curl.
Lin Zhixia stood there as if she still wanted to say something. Then she suddenly summoned her courage, grabbed Su Nianyao’s hand, and shouted:
“Um, Yaoyao… don’t give up… You must come to school… Jiang Tang, she–“
“What happened to Jiang Tang?”
Su Nianyao was about to pull her hand away, but when she heard Jiang Tang’s name, she suddenly looked at Lin Zhixia.
To Lin Zhixia, that fierce glare was full of anger and fighting spirit. She felt a little relieved.
“Jiang Tang will definitely face retribution for all the bad things she’s done… Don’t give up resisting… You are not alone… There are many other victims…”
Su Nianyao immediately shook off Lin Zhixia’s hand. What nonsense was she talking about?
Jiang Tang came to play with her every day. How could she still have time to find other victims?
‘Despicable. This master of time management.’
[Xiao Ai, there won’t be anyone else romancing my mission target besides me, right?]
[This world is open and free. Although you are the only player, characters can also spark things with each other. Love is omnipotent here. Anything is possible.]
[Then hasn’t my illness given someone an opportunity?]
Su Nianyao’s expression shifted, turning ugly.
‘This body’s physical fitness was holding her back!’
Strengthening her physical training was now urgent.
“Then I… I’ll go first. Rest well.”
Lin Zhixia had already gotten the information she wanted. Seeing Su Nianyao’s face about to turn as black as the bottom of a pot, she tactfully took her leave.
Outside the window, a red Porsche started and drove away.
[Xiao Ai, how much Affection Rating does Lin Zhixia have for me?]
[Lin Zhixia’s current Affection Rating: -20]
[-20, and she still grabbed my hand and called me ‘Yaoyao.’ She’s such a drama queen!]
Su Nianyao looked down at the folder in her hand. A weasel wishing a chicken a happy New Year—no good intentions.
She narrowed her eyes and pulled out a card from inside. On it was a handwritten website address, a drawing of a firefly, and the label Firefly Alliance.
Lin Zhixia had also written a line: Yaoyao, keep it up! Let’s defeat the evil forces together!
For the first time, Su Nianyao felt speechless.
‘Keep up what?’
‘You, with an Affection Rating of -20, have the nerve to ask me to defeat Jiang Tang, who has an Affection Rating of 99?’
‘That was my newbie bonus!’
‘Get out of here!’
Su Nianyao threw the card into the trash can without hesitation.
Thinking of Jiang Tang, she irritably opened her phone and checked her empty inbox and call log.
There was no message from Jiang Tang.
A part of her heart also became empty.
She put the folder on the table, returned to her room, picked up her phone, and opened Tongtong’s contact page.
Search: Jiang Tang.
The profile picture showed a hand grabbing a cat’s head, with the face unclear.
She tapped “Add Friend.” She still had to take the initiative.
‘When Jiang Tang sees her friend request, she must be thrilled, right?’
One minute… five minutes… ten minutes passed.
She glanced at her phone from time to time. The screen lit up and went dark, then went dark and lit up again.
‘Still not accepting?’
‘Is she busy?’
‘Didn’t she herself say “Jiang Tang’s Property”?’
‘Property my foot. She hadn’t even added me as a friend. This Affection Rating was watered down!’
Su Nianyao put the phone face down on the blanket and closed her sore eyes.
Just as she was about to fall asleep, the phone suddenly vibrated.
She sat up with a carp-like flip and groggily looked for her phone.
Clatter.
Something heavy hit the floor, and the vibration stopped.
She was fully awake now, too.
She regretted putting the phone on the blanket. If she’d held it in her hand, none of this trouble would have happened.
Su Nianyao fished up the phone, opened her missed calls, and saw the name “Jiang Tang.”
She scratched her messy hair, sighed, and was just about to call back when the phone vibrated again. This time, it was a Tongtong video call.
She hurriedly fixed her appearance and pressed accept.
“Hello–“
“You hung up on me?”
Jiang Tang’s face moved closer from the other end of the phone, and she stared at Su Nianyao with a hint of displeasure.
“No… my hand slipped. The phone fell on the floor.”
She had just wanted to ask why it had taken Jiang Tang so long to accept her friend request, but this preemptive strike left her speechless, and her momentum faltered.
“Oh.”
Silence for two seconds.
“You got sick?”
Jiang Tang asked. Her room, decorated entirely in pink, was visible in the background.
“Yeah.”
“A cold?”
“Yeah.”
“…”
“…”
“Because of me?” Jiang Tang asked.
Su Nianyao was stunned.
‘You have some self-awareness. Your reaction time is way too slow.’
‘Someone with an Affection Rating of -20 had come to her door to advance a side quest, yet someone with an Affection Rating of 99 hadn’t shown any sign of concern.’
“…What do you think?” she blurted out.
“You turned the AC so low and splashed a bucket of water on me. Of course I caught a cold.”
“Are you better now?”
“Better? I just got over the fever.”
“Oh.”
“Oh what? It’s all your fault.”
After Su Nianyao said this, she herself was stunned for a moment.
‘What was she doing?’
‘Was she complaining to the childish Jiang Tang?’
‘What kind of horror story is this?’
Su Nianyao suddenly felt frantic inside.
Jiang Tang watched as the little wildcat, who had just been pouting with a wronged look, suddenly froze, her face changing from red to green.
Heh, cats all needed to be coaxed.
“I have a secret remedy that can make you recover faster… Do you want it?”
Jiang Tang’s voice pulled her back. That little-fox look, with those smiling eyes, made her name imprint itself in the empty place in Su Nianyao’s heart.
“Jiang Tang.”
“Yeah.”
“What secret remedy? You’re not going to make a bodyguard run an errand to deliver cold medicine, are you?”
“It’s the Jiang family miracle cure!”
Jiang Tang laughed softly. Her laugh reached Su Nianyao’s ears, warm and pleasant.
“I heard that if you pass a cold to another person, it gets better… Do you want to pass it to me?”
Su Nianyao was silent for a second.
‘This setup was too short.’
‘She had a feeling the next part of the conversation would become strange again.’
‘She’d better not take the bait, or she’d be led astray again.’
“…How do I pass it?”
Su Nianyao pressed her lips together and suppressed that strange expectation. She swore she was only being studious. She just wanted to learn some flirting techniques and then get revenge.
‘Really!’
“Bring your face closer.”
“…”
Realizing what was about to happen, a red flush already rose on Su Nianyao’s face. She pointed the camera toward her cheek.
The other end of the call was quiet for a moment.
Then she heard–
“Mwah.”
Very soft.
Very short.
Like something had been kissed.
The thought became reality. Red rushed up to her ears. Her skin was still too thin.
“I’ve got it.”
Jiang Tang spoke as though she were casting a spell.
“All right, the cold has flown away.”
“What’s the use of kissing the phone…”
Stubbornness was her last bit of pride.
“Then should I send a car to pick you up?”
“…In your dreams!”
Su Nianyao frantically jabbed the hang-up button, her face red enough to drip blood. Her heart raced, and her mind was full of Jiang Tang’s wicked smile from a moment ago.
‘The most dangerous one is you!’
Su Nianyao poked and poked at Jiang Tang’s profile picture to release all her shame.
[Fall behind and you get beaten. Xiao Ai, buy me the book you recommended last time. I want to study it deeply. Learn their strengths to counter them!]
[Okay, Master. Which one do you want?]
[The cheapest one.]
In the villa, Jiang Tang sat on the bed with her phone in hand. The screen showed “Call Ended.”
She raised the phone to her lips and kissed it again.
“Mwah.”
[…Host, what are you doing?]
“Reviewing.”
[…]
“Consolidating memory.”
[…]
“None of your business.”
Jiang Tang hugged the phone to her chest and snuggled under the blanket.
The corners of her mouth wouldn’t stay down no matter what.
The little wildcat was so easy to coax.
She wondered when she could catch her and bring her home to turn her into a house cat.